New work led by from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has revealed how to create mouse embryos without a combination of sperm and eggs.
In the new research published in Nature Cell Biology, the scientists described how to create mouse embryos from multiple stem cell types. Their results could aid in increasing the knowledge of early mammalian development.
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Researchers had earlier shown that embryos in mammals differentiate into multiple types of cell groups as they grow. Stem cells have also been shown to be involved in this process. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear.
Investigations centered on embryos in both mice and humans can provide useful insight into how they manage to divide and grow.
Creating embryos from stem cells
The Caltech team was joined in this work by researchers from the University of Cambridge and The Francis Crick Institute, both in the United Kingdom.
The scientists began by studying how different groups of stem cells communicate in natural mouse embryos while developing. They were able to figure out what was involved in these communications and how they were possible.
After deciphering the “code,” the team then proceeded to isolate three different types of stem cells. These cells form the cell masses that are typically seen during early embryo development.
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Specifically, the researchers isolated pluripotent stem cells that develop into body tissue over time. The other two types give rise to the amniotic sac and placenta. The amount of each stem cell type was taken note of.
After being carefully grown in a laboratory, the three stem cell types became an embryo that was mature enough to enable the scientific study of its development. The artificial embryo had a beating heart and what was described as the “beginnings of a brain.”
The research team went further to replicate their results with the addition of genetically engineered cells. It was interested in finding out the effects this would have on embryo maturation.
The researchers discovered that they could reproduce some brain development issues similar to those that have been observed in human embryos. In addition, they suggested that their research may also help in explaining what went wrong if mice, or even humans, have a miscarriage.
This work could help to overcome ethical issues that can arise from research on embryos. Ability to make embryos that are about the same as natural ones would help in learning more about early mammalian development. It may also reduce the costs of experiments that involve the use of embryos.
References
Stem cell-derived synthetic embryos self-assemble by exploiting cadherin codes and cortical tension
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